of philadelphia



(No Model.)

B. BIDWELL. GONDUIT ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

INVENTOR} Patented Sept. 5, 1893.

-WlTNESS E5i: 4%?7 Mm Q. %W

A TTORNEY BEssoNsiDWELL, F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, sssroiioe, BYmissus ASSIGNMENTS, OF GEE-HALF T0 BENSON BIDWELL, TRUSTEE.

oosfoow ssso'rsio RAiLWAY.

' srsoimosmoii forming m of Letters Patent is, 504,54 dated Septemberas, 1893= fippiieatiunfilefl September 4,1884. 8erlal Ho. 1424 8- I ilTo all whom it may concern:

'Be it known that I; BENSON BIDWELL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Phiiodei: yhie in the county of Philadelphia and Staie ofPennsyivania, have invented certain new and usefullmprovements inElectrio Railways, of which the following is s, sgieeifioetion,reference being bad. therein to izhe accompaaying drmving v m Myinvention has relation to eleotric roilways of the form comprising aslotteii con- (knit in which are located. fixed electricaleonduetors'fed by a. generator located. at e ste- (ion or stationsaiongiilfe line of way, and an I 5 electrically propeiie'd vehiclehaving current collector traveling therewith, eztening into the conduitthrough its slot, and provided with bmSiZE'S or rollers having eonmeiwith iiie fixed COnfiilCtOl'S to gi-iaoe the motor oi: the car, in aloop oireuii; from said oo'sdiiot-ois; and it has for its-objects toprovide a. form of fixoci' oonfiuotors which pi'oteois the cosmossurface from dirt, rain or moismiie entering 0:: dripging into akeoondiiioond permits the contact-brushes to bee-readily removerlotanypoint. in the trove-i of the collector, and also of their movementlaterally, of the current collector, for preventing damage to saidbrushes and the breaking or impairment of the continuity of the Contactbetweep the brushes and the conductors; to pro vide-aiiupwarcispringpressure fox iizo oon-= mess on the ourrentmoileeioi' inaddition so their Eaters; movement; to provide a, oonduit which affordsto its iiiieiior for repairing, hosting or other purposes; to iifiviiiothe csm'ont ooiioctor with upward spring pressure brushes constructed tomeiii'bain. continuity of cooiaoswith the fixed eomiuotors in passingover joints or othsi' breaks in the latter; to provide the cor withbrushes for cleansing the bottom of ihe'oondiiii; ans. wiiii devices foradmitting of saitisg or of intro I duoing oiher smtabie meienei into theooiiduit for melting snow 01' ieo formed therein, whereby an economical,efiiciesten dumbie railway system having oiees icsily p opeiieii cars issecured.

My invention accordingly ooosists of the go COEAiJiEfliliDB,oonstriioiioii aii aii'gsgomon i of parts as hereinafter dose. s eimmoe,

independently having reference particularly to iine oirouii or conductoroomposeii of metal giiotes of segmental, iiisesiiapeci or open bottomiiicrossseoiioo whioii disiisiiepedoes not extend over a, .oiroie and.having an internal eontoot siirfeoe tamed downwerdyto aii'eieetriceliypropeiieo vehicle having a oiirreni; coi- -1ector provided withoomsobbrushes "having a lateral movement upon and also an upweirdlyeoting pressure against; the conductors in a, slashed conduit; to a tubedepending from the car into the gonduit for feeziing salt thereto; to anadj notable sweeping brush likewise depending from the car into thecon.- 6g diiit; to a conduit having removable slotted cover eomposedi oftwo'iongisufiinei sections each made up of a metal plate having its upper surface roughened and is. bottom yiabe of eiostie (m6. eieozrionoo-conduciing material go bolted $0 the oondiiii.

Reference is bad to the accompanying draw iog's whoreis Fign 2'9 1,represents a, long-findinaiseetion ofperi'. of a, oer, line of way andslootedoonduitembodyingmyimprovementsfiig, 5 2, a transverse seotioa ofoondiiis 2on1 condoctors oni'i'e n elevation of the contact glow; Fig.8, a like view showing adjustabi'ebrlisi'i in elevation; and Figs. 4, 5,and 6 are detail sections. views of modified forms of open bottomconduoiors.

A represents the brook rails of a street or other railway between whichis mooted. sioi we Conduit 3. The istter is oomposeci of sootioils i) Cwhich are oblong, aqua BOLQiila; v erwise soitefioiy eonfigoreid is orrfiivcjiifhl and having intornsi bisvoketo D I) or ned m itegrsithorewithor screwed or othorwise i225 toned is the oondsiis 5L5flesh-ed, The sections C and ms-chess D preforebly of go motel has 0230: material as o red may so used for the some. hose SECMOZ18 E3?G'OP=3Bof; their toss a and me zippor side-Li of the brackets are shown asprefierabiy iiizsii with iiie upper edges of the seiioiis. Tile top 5parts of opposisely loeeiiod i obiy approach each otherand up the top ofthe oonduii; are plooeo i'omovai'oie Covers E composed of iongitidioeipietee e a separated. oy'a centre]. slot (2' as eoowog The goo slot8 may of any desired width and each sever plate a is composedprefembly'oi shim tom strip of wood orother elastic and electricnon-conducting materialfand a top strip of metal or other durablematerial f suitably corrugated or roughened as shown at f to preventhorses slipping upon said plates when traveling on or over the same. Thestrips fnot only serve aselectrie insulation but also as a cushion. forrelieving or taking up the impact of the horses feet upon the plates e.These strips f and f are fastened to each other and to the conduitsections by boltsf to provide the sections Q with removable caps orcovers for affording easy access to the conduit without necessitatingdigging up of the roadway.

Uponthe brackets D are preferably secured the conductors G suitablyinsulated from the former asshown at g. The conductors are in sectionsand the joints between the sections are electrically made by wires g orotherwise as desired. These conductors" are therefore fixed in theconduit and are fed by or are in circuit with an electric generatorlocated at statio'us along the line of way, as fully shown and describedinan application filed by me on the 14th day of August, 1884, and SerialNo. 140,514.

If desired the brackets D may be cut away as shown at (Z Figs. 2 and 3,to accommodate conductors G so that they will not project into thevertical plane of the conduit slot, or, such result may be obtainedwithout breaking the outline of the brackets as illustrated in Fig. 6.The conductors G are in cross section made in'the form of a segment of acircle preferably,or,aredish-shaped not extending over-half a circle andhave side or depending edge flanges so that they have, wide openbottoms, and this configu ration may be plain or regular as indicated inFig. 3, or irregular as shown in Fig. 4, or angular or otherwise asrepresented in Figs. 2 and 6.

They are fixed in the conduit with their openbottouis underneath orturned down so as to present their inner or bottom surfaces g" forelectrical contact with the contact points of the currentcollcctorashereinafterdescribed. This arrangement of, as well as, theform of the conductors, of themselves prevent dirt, rain or otherforeign substances gaining access to the contact surfaces of theconductors,and any moisture deposited thereon drips off so that clean orgood contactsurfaces are always presented bythe conductors to thecontact points or brushes on the current col: lcctor. The wide openbottom of the conductor admits of removing the collector contacts orbrushes from the conductors at any point in the travel of tlnacolleetorsand also of said contacts or brushes moving laterally in the conductorswhen the collector sways or moves latcrall y, and hence wrenching,twisting oibrealcing oil of thebrushcs or contacts from the collector isavoided.

it represents a part of a car of the usual or an y suitable constructionwhich is electrically propelled by a motor IL in gear with one of thecar axles It by suitable friction gear h or other connection between theniotor shaft and axles magbeiiscd as desired. "lraveling with the car isa current collectorl-which depends into the conduit through its slotcandis pro vidcd with laterally moving and upwardlyacting pressurebrushes or rollers i for contact with the bottom surfaces of theconductors.

The current collector may be constructed as desired but I have shown itcomposed. of two parts iand i suitably insulated from one another asindicated at 5 and each provided with lower ends i preferablybifurcated, to each of which is pivoted or hinged, by a longitudinalaxis, an arm or plate havinga socket for the reception of acontact-brush or roller 2" which has a spiral spring support so arrangedas to preferably impart to the contact brush an upward spring pressureagainst the conductor contact surfa'ces. Each contact roller or brushtherefore has a separate vertical pressure and a transverse yielding motion of its own about a longitudinal axis to admit of it independentlyyieldingor accommodating itself to the vertical and lateral vibrationsof the car or collector, for maintainingthe desired continuity ofcontact between them and the conductors while subject to said vibrationsand these yielding motions of the contact brushes being independent ofthe collector admit of them compensating for or yielding both to theunevenness in the Conductors and in the road-bed to maintain a gOOdCOI'ICHCL butwcuu tin: brushes nud the conductors as the collectortravels along in the conduit, irrespective of any inequalities ofalignment of the conductors and condition of service of the road. Thereare willbe noted two brushes i for each conductor and these brushes areseparated from one another sons to bridge the joints of the conductorsections and maintain continuity of contact as the collector travelsthroughthe conduit. Traveling with the car is another depending arm Kextendingthrough the slot c into the conduit. This arm is provided witha sweeping brush 7a which is vertically adjustable upon arm Kand held inits adjusted positionby set screw k, or said parts may be otherwiseconstructed as desired. The brush K maybe located in advance of thecontact plow or otherwise as desired, so that as the car travels alongthe brush 7t: sweeps the. bottom. of the conduit to keep it clean. Thedirt swept is, by the brush, conveyed to lateral conduits L loading tothe street gutters or preferably to the sewers. I

From the car depends a funnel or tube M having a trap door or otheropening m. This tube depends into the conduit through its slot and isused to convey salt or other material to the conduit ,from the car formelting snow or ice formed onentering the conduit.

The feeding fixed conductors 3: instead of being secured to separatelines of brackets I) may both be attached to the saine'line of brackets0r supports as shown in Fig. 5, in

which case the support is made of wood or other insulating material.

The oblong or square form of conduit described having interval bracketson each side, affordsastrong construction of conduit which will notreadily yield to the action of frost to close the slot e'but,if itismore or less closed.

by lateral pressure, it is readily opened to its normal width byadjusting the plates 6 6 laterally and these plates being located alongthe entire line, serve as man-holes at any desired point.

As it is obvious that the construction of the foregoing described partscomprising my invention as hereinafter claimed maybe varied withoutdeparting from the spirit of the same I do not wish to be understood asconfining myself to any one particular construction therefor.

What I claim is- 1. In an electric railway the combination of a conduithaving an open top, internal brackets secured to opposing vertical sidesof the conduit and having their upper ends flush with the top of theconduit, stationary conductor-sections secured to and supported by saidbrackets, and a slotted cover composed of two removable sections boltedto said conduit, substantially as set forth.

2. In an electric railway the combination of a metallic conduit havingan open top and closed sides and bottom, internal side brackets flushwith the top of the conduit, conductors secured to and wholly supportedby said brackets, and a slotted cover bolted to the brackets,substantially as shown and described.

3. The conduit B composed of sections and each section having closedbottom and sides and slotted removable top E composed of plateseach madeup of a strip of insulating material and a strip of metal boltedtogether and to the'conduit sections, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

4. The metal conduit B having a slotted removable cover, composed of atop-plate made up of a strip of metal havingits upper surface roughenedor corrugated to form part of the street or road-surface, and of a lowerstrip of insulating material bolted together and to the conduit,substantially as set forth.

5. In an electric railway the combination of conduit B having a slottedcover and internal brackets, conductor sections G secured to saidbrackets and having open bottom contact surfaces which do not extendover a half of a circle, an electrically propelled car and a currentcollector traveling with the car, extending into the conduit, and havingcontact pieces which have a yielding contact with the bottom of theconductors, substantially as set forth.

6. The conduit B having open top 0, brackets D, slotted removable coverE composed of separate plates each made up of strips f f of differentmaterials bolted together and to the brackets, substantially as shownand described.

7. In an electric railway a metallic line circuit composed of metalplates of segmental or dish shaped form in cross section which do notextend over half a circle and have internal contact surfaces, and aresuitably supported with their open bottoms or internal contact-surfacesturned downward, substantially as set forth. I

8; In an electric railway the combination with a metallic line circuitcomposed of conductors of segmental or dish shaped form in cross-sectionwhich do not extend over half a circle and have internal contactsurfaces, of an electrically propelled car having a current collectortraveling therewith, and contact pieces on the collector for electricalcontact with the bottom surfaces of the conductors and having verticallyand laterally yielding motion, as and for the purpose set forth.

9. In an electric railway the combination of a conduit B having slot e,conductors G having open bottoms, an electrically propelled car having acurrent collector extending into the conduit and provided with hingedarms projecting toward the conductors and supporting contacts 2' whichhave a spring pressure toward the conductors, substantially as setforth.

10. In an electric railway, the combination of a conduit havingstationary conductors, an electrically propelled car having travelingconnections I terminating in laterally proj ecting ends '5 pivoted orhinged spring bearings on ends 2' and contacts 2' on said springbearings substantially as set forth.

11. In an electric railway the conduit B having slot e a lateral conduitL and a car having a funnel or pipe M for feeding salt or like materialto said conduit, substantially as set forth.

12. In an electric railway, a slotted conduit having branch conduits Lin combination with an electrically propelled car having an adjustablebrush 70, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

l3. The-combination of an electrically propelled vehicle, a slottedconduit having a fixed conductor, and a current collector traveling withthe vehicle and having hinged or pivoted bars or plates, and upwardspring pressure brushes on said plates for contact with said conductors,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereofIafiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

BENSON BIDVVELL.

WVitnesses:

JOHN RODGERS, S. J. VAN STAVOREN.

too

IIO

It is hereby certified that Letters Patent No. 504,549, grantedSeptember 5, upon the application of Benson Bidwell, of Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, for an imprm ment in Conduit Electric Railways, Waserroneously issued to said Benson Bidwe inventor, and Benson BidWell,trustee, as assignee of one-half interest in said inve tion; Whereas thepatent should have been granted to said Benson'Bidwell, he be sole ownerof the entire interest; and that the said Letters Patent should be readv this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of thecasein Patent Office. I

Signed, countersigned, and sealed this 5th day of January, A. D., 1897.

[SEAL.] JNO. M. REYNOLDS,

Assistant Secretary of the Interior. Oountersigned:

JOHN S; SEYMOUR,

Commissioner of Patents.

